Fresh fire at Japan nuclear reactor: operator

TOKYO: A fresh fire broke out -- but reportedly went out of its own accord later -- at a quake-hit Japanese atomic power plant early Wednesday, compounding Japan's nuclear crisis. The blaze at the number-four reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 atomic power plant reportedly went out of its own accord later, the state atomic safety agency said. "We have received information from TEPCO (plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co) that the fire and smoke is now invisible and it appears to have gone out of its own accord," spokesman Minoru Ogoda told AFP. An employee had earlier reported smoke pouring from the fourth floor of the reactor building, a TEPCO spokesman said. It was not clear how long it had been burning at that point but the blaze was extinguished 30 minutes after being spotted. There was no immediate report of injuries. The extent of damage was unclear. Attempts to tackle...